Leadership
The backbone of any team is unity. A leader attempts to strengthen the team by inspiring unity, coordination, and performance. It could be said that to lead in the heat of battle is to know one's team so intimately as to wield it as a mere extension of oneself. A character with leadership is one who not only remains aware of what their team is capable of, but is able to inspire them to the heights of their abilities. Leadership also allows allies to receive bonuses from Combat Tactics/Strategies in combat. Example: Saibane, Seth and Hana are fighting a villain. Saibane, invested moderately in Leadership (2 ranks), notes that they need an effective blitz to properly dispose of their enemy. He offers Seth, transformed as Pluto but drained of Stamina, the consolation that he can still wield his weapon effectively, citing his extensive practice and prior impressive demonstrations. The enemy, in this case, is an oaf, easy to hit (DC 7), so Saibane believes it prudent to improve his ally's damage instead of attack rolls. He rolls 2d6 (one for each rank) and adds his Mind (5) to the result. He rolls two threes, for a result of 11. 11 is one success level above CR 9 and two success levels above CR 7. Saibane can either grant a target (himself included) +1 Damage (limited to a total cap of half the target's Body stat) or grant two allies (one for each success level above CR 7) bonuses from Combat Tactics/Strategies. He chooses the former, and grants Seth a +1 Damage bonus with some clever intonation or inspiration ("Don't stop believing!"). Now it's Seth's turn. Seth makes an exquisite attack roll of 6 with his one rank in Melee Weapon (Jiujiebian). When he adds his Body of 5, the total is 11 versus the enemy's CR 7. For hitting two success levels above his target, he gains +1 Damage. Saibane's Leadership adds another +1 Damage. Seth's Body is 5, limiting his bonus damage to a maximum of half (rounded up), which caps at 3 bonus damage. He hasn't reached that cap, so he is fine. His total damage is 3, 1 from the hit, +1 Bonus for reaching 2-4 points above what is needed to hit, and +1 Bonus granted by Saibane's Leadership. Example: Still fighting the same enemy, Saibane decides on a change of pace for attacks. He decides they need to strike the oaf's weak points to really make their attacks counts. He rolls 2d6 for his 2 ranks in Leadership and adds his Mind of 5 to the result. He rolls a 1 and a 4, for a total of 10 versus the CR 7. As this is 3 above (1 Success level per 2 above CR), he can add a Combat Tactic/Strategy to one other ally. He chooses to add to Hana, having fought alongside her longer, and proceeds to roll his Combat Tactic/Strategy check. He rolls another 2d6 for his 2 ranks in Combat Tactics/Strategy and adds his Mind to the result. He rolls a 5 and s 6, which, with his Mind of 5, totals to 16, 9 above the CR 7. For each success level (2 points) above CR 7, he can develop a strategy that adds +1 to any combination of attack or defense. He is four success levels above CR 7, granting +4 Bonus points for him to allocate. He has already chosen to blitz the enemy down, but he realizes he's also going toe to toe with a very powerful enemy. He splits half of the bonus between offense and defense for himself (+2 Attack and +2 Defense) while granting all of it to offense for Hana (+4 Attack), all explained with some command or order ("Sweep the leg!"). Saibane has used up his actions for the post. Now it's Hana's turn. She takes aim with her bow and rolls for her 3 ranks in Archery, adding her Body score of 4 to the result. With a roll of 1, 4, and 3, she adds her Body of 4 to total at 12. Saibane's Tactics, applied through Leadership, add +4, for a grand total of 16, 9 above her enemy's CR 7. She gains +1 Bonus damage for hitting 2-4 points above the CR 7 required to hit. She gains another +1 Bonus for each 2 points she reaches after that, adding up to another +2 Bonus Damage. However, her Body stat is 4, capping her maximum Bonus Damage at half of that, or +2. She still benefits partially, and her total damage winds up being 3, 1 for the hit, +1 for hitting +2-4 above what was required, and +1 from Saibane's Tactics through Leadership giving her another +1 (after her cap). Example: This guy just won't seem to go down, so Saibane figures a coordinated strike should be enough to push him over the edge. With another roll of Leadership (2d6+5) he totals out to 13. This is two success levels (4 points) above CR 9 required for an increased in coordinated strike damage. Each success level grants a +2 bonus to coordinated strike damage, for a total of +4 damage to this coordinated strike. He tells Seth to strike alongside his own attack and subsequently rolls for the attack. His two actions in the post are used up. Seth's turn, and he chooses to cooperate with the coordinated attack. He whirls and springs out his wrist, lashing outward with his attack. Whatever damage both end up with, the total damage inflicted to the creature ends up being Saibane's damage + Seth's damage + 4. Category:Skills Category:Mind Skills Category:War Planning Skills Category:Status Effecting Skills